South African Minister of State Security Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba makes it clear that while the Jewish community is under no particular threat, the department of state security takes seriously its mandate to protect the country’s citizens.

Lawyers are preparing criminal and civil charges following one of the darkest weeks of anti-Semitism in South Africa. There have been a slew of vile incidents that sent shock waves through the community.

The SA Friends of the Beit Halochem Zahal Disabled Veterans Organisation was established in Johannesburg in 1982, its primary goal being to help and support Zahal disabled veterans by raising funds to help them return and resume their normal lives as soon as possible.

Dr Ali Bacher, former South African cricket captain and administrator, was one of the five recipients of the 2018 Steve Tshwete Lifetime Achievement Awards at the SA Sport Awards held in Bloemfontein on Sunday night.

Devotion to the cause of the State of Israel flourishes in the most unlikely places, even in societies where the Jewish presence is small to non-existent. Such is the case in Mozambique, where the work of Beth-El Associacao Crista Amigos De Israel - Mozambican Christian Friends of Israel - testifies to how much can be achieved by those inspired by their Christian faith to promote the Israeli cause, despite adverse conditions.

JNF’s unique “Blue Boy Box” now lives at King David Linksfield Pre-Primary so that children of each generation learn the importance of tzedakah (charity or welfare). It is the responsibility of Jews all over the world to build Israel, develop it and nurture it as the home of the Jewish nation

“Knowledge is Light” was our school motto when I was a child in Durban. The importance of education was made clear to us from as far back as I can remember. It wasn’t taken for granted. A good education was a privilege.

Late on Tuesday, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect. While at the time of writing the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had still not confirmed the existence of such a truce, Israeli citizens living in the south of the country were told they could return home and to “normalcy”.

The Israeli gymnastics team was out in full force at 48th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships that began at Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday. There are five males and two females in the team headed by new Israeli sensation Artem Dolgopyat. The others are Alexander Shatilov, Ilan Korchak, Andrey Medvedev, and Michael Sorokine, while the women are Ofir Netzer and Meitar Lavy.

As I was heading home on Tuesday, I heard on ChaiFM that 460 rockets had been fired from Gaza into Israel since late Sunday. That is an outrageous number. If every one of them hit inhabited areas, thousands of Israelis would have been killed.

“The president is not directly responsible for acts of domestic terrorism, but he should be more careful with his language.” That’s the way the Economist headlined its report on the horrific Pittsburgh killings just more than two weeks ago.

With Prince William’s historic visit to Israel this week, all eyes have been trained on the Jewish capital. It may have taken 70 years, but the first official visit by a member of the British Royal family began in Israel on Monday, when William, the Duke of Cambridge, arrived in Tel Aviv.

Some 5 600 emissaries (shluchim) from Chabad-Lubavitch from all over the world gathered at the Pier 8 warehouse in Brooklyn, New York this week for the opening of their four-day annual international conference and banquet, 75 years after the arrival of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, from Europe.

“The greatness of our nation is that our people are great. We are a nation of heroes, of people with good and decent moral fibre who will not tolerate our country being plundered!” So said Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein in Pretoria this morning.“This is a struggle for accountability and justice,” Goldstein told the crowd (which included prominent Jewish CEOs like Adrian Gore, Stephen Koseff and Michael Katz). “This struggle is about sovereignty. The power of the people always triumphs in the end.”

Israeli woman confirmed killed in Berlin attack

Israeli tourist in Berlin (Dalia Elyakim, pictured) who had been missing since Monday night’s truck-ramming attack was confirmed to be among the 12 victims. Her husband is in a serious condition.

by
ANT KATZ | Dec 23, 2016

The search for Dalia Elyakim, 60, an Israeli woman who went missing after the Christmas market attack in Berlin on Monday, has ended sadly with the announcement yesterday by German authorities who confirmed that she was among the 12 victims murdered in the attack.

The woman’s husband, Rami, 60, was seriously wounded and is hospitalised in Berlin. He already underwent two surgeries and is expected to undergo a third. His situation is not life-threatening, and efforts are underway to have him flown to Israel.

The couple was in Berlin on holiday. Their family arrived in Germany on Tuesday.

RIGHT: Dalia and Rami Elyakim in happier times

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin received the news of Elyakim’s death “with great sadness”.

“From here I send my sympathies and offer strength to her family who are by the bedside of her husband Rami, who was seriously injured in the attack, and we pray for his speedy recovery. We will remain united and determined in the face of this murderous terror which strikes across the world, and we will fight relentlessly against extremism and hatred,” Rivlin stated.

Rami was seriously injured in the attack and is reportedly still sedated and breathing with a respirator following surgery.

Germany’s security forces were at the time of this article still searching for Anis Amri, the prime suspect, whose documents police found under the driver’s seat of the truck that drove into the Christmas shoppers. He is believed to be armed and dangerous.

Amri, a male from Tunisia in his early 20s, had been investigated over an earlier terror plot and was under surveillance for several months, a German official said, adding that he could not be deported due to missing paperwork.

A reward of up to 100 000 euros is being offered for information leading to his capture. (He was later shot dead in Italy.)

The Islamic State (ISIS) terror group claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack.